A Historic Vessel, Stuck in Place

Riverboat’s Backers Look for a Way to Get the Delta Queen Moving Again

The Delta Queen, a historic riverboat that once roamed the Mississippi and its tributaries, has been moored on the banks of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga since 2009 as a floating hotel.Credit
Virginie Drujon-Kippelen for The New York Times

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — From the nearby Walnut Street Bridge, the Delta Queen does not appear to be in distress. The Tennessee River stirs gently, and the red paddle wheel of the venerable steamboat is still.

But the boat, a National Historic Landmark that once ferried presidents dating back to Herbert Hoover and now operates as a floating hotel, faces an uncertain future. Not allowed by law to steam away for overnight cruises and no longer entirely welcome at its dock downtown, the boat is now an issue before Congress and a sensitive matter for Chattanooga’s new mayor, who nearly evicted it this year.

“It is at a crossroads, but hopefully not for long,” said Leah Ann Ingram, who leases the boat from a Colorado company and oversees its daily operations. “I know people love the Delta Queen.”

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Mayor Andy Berke says that Chattanooga was intended only as a temporary solution.Credit
Virginie Drujon-Kippelen for The New York Times

The boat, with its 88 staterooms and now-silent steam calliope, was not always at the center of political debates and public relations brawls. For decades, it negotiated the waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries. Through the years, its manifests included three presidents and Princess Margaret of Britain, who stayed in Room 119, the Robert E. Lee Suite, in 1986.

The Delta Queen, built in the 1920s, also had other duties, including stints as a naval ship during World War II, a link between San Francisco and Sacramento, and a tour boat for participants at the California conference that yielded the United Nations.

But safety regulations limiting wooden ships have posed a threat to its operations since the 1960s. After years of allowing the Delta Queen an exemption from a maritime safety law, Congress in 2008 allowed the exemption to expire. Although the House of Representatives voted this year to support a new exemption, the Senate has not acted.

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Detail on the banister leading up to the Texas Lounge of the Delta Queen.Credit
Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

As a result, the Delta Queen has been parked here since 2009 as a hotel along the Tennessee’s north shore. A newcomer to Chattanooga, the state’s fourth-largest city, it embraced a practice of other local hotels and offered a Moon Pie, a locally developed confection of marshmallow filling, chocolate and graham crackers, with turndown service.

And although the Delta Queen has remained crowded, the toll of years spent stationary is evident: paint is worn and peeling, the boilers are in need of an overhaul, and cobwebs are scattered in the paddle wheel.

Its shortcomings, though, have not fazed the children who squeal as they board the ship, or the tourists who pass through to take photographs. Despite its popularity, the boat faced growing worries inside City Hall, including a history of missed rent payments that officials said amounted to more than $11,000. (Mrs. Ingram has disputed the city’s figures.)

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A couple plays with cards aboard the Delta Queen.Credit
Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Mayor Andy Berke’s administration was also frustrated that the Delta Queen had remained for so long at a spot with limited infrastructure, which the mayor said had been intended only as a temporary solution.

Months into Mr. Berke’s tenure, the city decided to force the Delta Queen out and eventually set Sept. 30 as the eviction date.

“The rent was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Mr. Berke recounted this month. “Also, we were looking at ensuring that we keep the highest quality downtown location that our citizens expect.”

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A view of one of the 90 cabins of the Delta Queen.Credit
Virginie Drujon-Kippelen for The New York Times

Mr. Berke’s approach found some support here from residents and business leaders who feared the consequences of what they saw as the Delta Queen’s rapid deterioration.

“I went to a wedding there that was really lovely, but I also think it’s kind of a nuisance because it blocks the really pretty part of the river,” said Denise Scaglione, who works at a retail store near the Delta Queen. “It could be an awesome addition to Chattanooga, but at this point, it just looks like a falling-apart piece of history.”

Mr. Berke’s plan, though, also prompted some angry feedback, and his administration quickly forged a six-month truce with Mrs. Ingram amid word that a deal to sell the boat was near.

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The Delta Queen on the Cumberland River in 2007. Federal law has since docked it; backers hope for another exemption.Credit
Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Midway through the six months, the Delta Queen remains for sale, although Cornel Martin, an investor who worked for a previous owner, said a transaction could become final early next year.

“We’re looking to secure the vessel and restore her back to her glory days,” said Mr. Martin, whose group would spend up to $6 million to refurbish the steamboat before again offering overnight cruises, perhaps from Cincinnati.

But with no Senate action scheduled and a March deadline in Chattanooga approaching, the immediate viability of Mr. Martin’s plan remains in some doubt, and the city and Mrs. Ingram could soon be in search of another short-term solution.

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Mrs. Ingram said she hoped to avoid another round of talks with Chattanooga officials.

“We have a goal, and we’re pressing forward to that goal,” Mrs. Ingram said. “She’s not meant to be a floating hotel. This boat is meant to plow our river system.”

Mrs. Ingram and Mr. Martin indicated that once the Delta Queen begins steaming again, Chattanooga may see it only rarely when the boat visits on its itineraries.

Mary Clor, a silversmith who often paddles alongside the Delta Queen when she kayaks the Tennessee River, said she would be disappointed if the steamboat’s presence in Chattanooga diminished. She is holding out for a compromise.

“We shouldn’t float it down the river and get rid of it totally,” Ms. Clor said. “It’s like anything. It just needs some fine-tuning.”

A version of this article appears in print on December 18, 2013, on Page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: A Historic Vessel, Stuck in Place. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe